The tools we use at school prepare us for the future. Olivia Moats used this calculator from her sophomore year of high school through college, and she plans to keep it throughout her career as a high school science teacher. Olivia takes her science classes seriously. Knowing how to solve problems on a calculator will help her teach her future students this important skill. It is hard to explain the reasons we grow attached to certain objects. Most people would not feel such a fondness for a calculator, but Olivia’s calculator is a major part of her past, her present, and her future as a science teacher.
Listen to Olivia Moats’ story in her own words:
This object is part of the “Legacy section of the Artifacts of Experience exhibition designed by University of Cincinnati students in the “Introduction to Public History” course in 2023.
We encourage you to explore the other objects in our collection.
Transcript
Olivia Moats: I chose my object because I, I have on my calculator forever and I’m gonna be a teacher and it’s really important that I can figure out how to do the math because I’m gonna be a science teacher. So, like, I have to be able to do math and I use my calculator every day and I literally don’t go through a day without using it. So, it’s really important for me when I go to school.